Work Text:
מַעֲשֶׂה וְחֲגַ֫גוּ מִשְׁפַּ֫חַת אֶדֶלְמָנָא לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא. רָחְמָא הֲוַת לְאִימַּת דָּוִד יוֹסֵף וּשְׁמַהּ אַיְקַטְרִינֵה. בְּשַׁתָּא חֲדָא מָ֫תוּ אָבַּהּ וְאָחַהּ. חִגַּת לְגַרְמַהּ. אִמְרַת אִימָּא לַהּ: ”תֶּהֱתֵא לְבֵיתַ֫נָא וַעֲבַ֫דְנָא לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא,“ וְכִי מֵאַחַר אִימַּת דָּוִד יוֹסֵף צַדְקָנִית.
It happened that the Edelman family celebrated the Festival of the Birth. David Joseph’s mother had a friend and her name was Aykatrineh. In one year, her father and her brother died, her mother and her sister having already died. She would have celebrated alone. His mother said to her: “you should come to our house, that is, the Edelman house, and we will do the Festival of the Birth,” which was not something they were accustomed to doing. Since she said this, we learn that David Joseph’s mother was a virtuous woman.
אָבָּא לֺא חֲמַד לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא. אִימָּא אִתְיַלְדַת בְּקִנְקִנָּטִי וְאָבָּא אִתְיְלִיד בְּבוֹסְטוֹן. אֲמַר לַהּ: לֺא נַעְבֻּד לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא בְּבַיְתָא יְהוּדִי. וְאִמְרַת לֵהּ: אֶלְעָזָר, נַעְבֻּד לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא. אֲמַר לַהּ: לֺא נַעְבֻּד לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא עַד דְּאֶמוּת. עֲבַ֫דוּ קוֹמְפְּרוֹמִיסִּין וַעֲבַ֫דוּ לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא.
His father did not want to do the Festival of the Birth. His mother was born in the Midwest in Kinkinnati, which is a gentler existence, and his father was born in Boston, which was not a good place to be Jewish between 1500 and 1991. He said to her: “We will not do the Festival of the Birth in a Jewish house.” And she said to him: “Elazar, we will do the Festival of the Birth.” He said to her: “We will not do the Festival of the Birth until I die.” They made compromises and they did the Festival of the Birth.
בְּיוֹמָא נְחֵיתוּ דָּוִד יוֹסֵף וְאָדָם יִצְחָק לְבֵית מֵתָב וְאָבָּא וְאִימָּא יְתַ֫בוּ. חֲשַׁ֫בוּ בְּנַיָּא דְּמֵיתַה הֲדַר קַשִּׁשְׁתָא וִיתַ֫בוּ בְּסַדְיָא. אִמְרַת אִימָּא לְהוֹן: בְּרִין, בְּשַׁתָּא נַעְבֻּד לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא. אֲמַר דָּוִד יוֹסֵף לְאָבָּא: עֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא מַהוּ? אֲמַר לֵהּ: הֲרֵי הוּא כַּחֲנֻכָּה. הַדְרֵת אִימָּא יָתֵהּ. אִמְרַת לֵהּ: אוּלַי עֲדִיף.
On the day when the Festival of the Birth was prepared, David Joseph and Adam Isaac, his brother, descended to the sitting room, and their father and mother were sitting there. The sons thought that Grandmother had died again and they sat on the pillow. Their mother said to them: “Sons, this year we will do the Festival of the Birth. David Joseph and Adam Isaac asked their father, saying: “What is the Festival of the Birth?” Because they were not accustomed to celebrating it, they had no understanding of its nature. He said to them: “See, it is like the holiday of Dedication.” He said this because Dedication and the Festival of the Birth are at the same time of year, not because they are similar. Their mother went underneath him, that is, she undermined him, and she said to him: “Perhaps preferable.”
תָּנוּ רַבָּנָן, מִפְּנֵי שְׁנֵי דְּבָרִים אוֹמְרִין קַל חֲנֻכָּה מֵעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא: מִפְּנֵי שׁוּקָא, וּמִפְּנֵי מַתָּנָתָא. ”מִפְּנֵי שׁוּקָא“ בְּשׁוּק כׇּל־מִינֵי מִקְּחֵי עֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא אִילּוּ בִּקְצֵה דַּחֲפִיפוּתָא אִיתַי מַצָּה. ”מִפְּנֵי מַתָּנָתָא“ אֲמַר גּוֹי: אַשְׁרֶ֫יךָ דְּקַבֵּלְתְּ מַתְּנָה לִתְמָנֵי יוֹמַיָּא. כִּדְתַנְיָא מַתְּנָה לִתְמָנֵי יוֹמַיָּא לֺא הָיָה וְלֺא עָתִיד לִיהְיוֹת אֶלָּא תְּמִינַי יוֹמָא. קַבֵּל עֲגָלָה: קַבֵּל גַּלְגְּלָא בְּיוֹם. בִּגְלָלְהוֹן, חֲנֻכָּה מַהוּ? חֲנֻכָּה חַג יְהוּדִים.
The Sages taught, for two reasons they say that the festival of Dedication is valued less than the Festival of the Birth: Because of the market, and because of the gifts. The Gemara asks, why “Because of the market”? Because in the market there are all kinds of goods of the Festival of the Birth, but the section for goods of Dedication is at the end of the shampoo stalls and there is only matzah instead of goods of Dedication. The Gemara asks again, why “Because of the gifts”? A goy says: “You must be happy that you recieve a gift every day for eight days. As it was taught in a baraita, a gift every day for eight days never happened and never will happen, rather, an eighth per day. If one receives a wagon: one receives the wheel on one day, and the other parts of the wagon on future days, so that one wagon is split over several days of gift-giving. Because of the reasons just mentioned, what is Dedication for and why is it celebrated? Dedication is a holiday of the Jews. And that is reason enough.
עֲבַ֫דוּ לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא. נְהוֹרָא. סְאוּדְתָּא. אִימָּא הֱנִיחַת גּוּרְבַּיָּא אַתְפַיָּא וְכָתוּב עָלָיו שְׁמַיָּא דִּבְנַיָּא בְּעִבְרִית. עֲבַ֫דוּ לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא בְּכַשְׁרוּת. אַיְקַטְרִינֵה אֲתָת לְבֵיתְהוֹן וּבְכָת. וְאַיְקַטְרִינֵה הֲיָת חִוָּרְתָּא מִשְּׂעַרַהּ וּמֵאוּדְנַהּ וּמִסּוּדְרַהּ. אִמְרַת אִימָּא: ”בְּרִין, מָה אֲבָת נַעְבֻּד.“ אֲגַ֫דוּ לְבַלּוּטַיָּא בְּאַרְוִיסָא וְאֲכַ֫לוּ צֻיָּבָא. חָזוּ שִׁבְעָה זוּלְחֶזְוַיָּא דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא. אֲמַ֫רוּ: ”הוּא בֶּאֱמֶת יוֹם טָב.“ יְתַ֫בוּ בִּפְנֵי זוּלְחֶזְוָא. אֲמַר אָדָם יִצְחָק: ”דִּיּוּק דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא, בָּדֺק!“ אֲמַר דָּוִד יוֹסֵף: ”טְעֵם דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא, קַרְלְ שְׁחוֹמָא!“ וּיְתַב אָבָּא בְּגַבָא וּצְלָא לְבַרְקָא.
They did the Festival of the Birth. They did the lights of the Festival of the Birth, and they did the meal of the Festival of the Birth. His mother hung the socks on the hearth and written on them were the names of the sons in Hebrew, which was not the language that they spoke. They did the Festival of the Birth in kashrut. Aykatrineh came to their house and when she went inside and saw what they had prepared for her, she wept. And Aykatrineh was white, that is, she was a WASP, and it could be seen from her hair, and from her ears, and from her sudra. His mother said: “Sons, what she wants to do on this day, we will do.” They tied the acorns onto the string, a rare ritual of the Festival of the Birth, and they ate an Advent calendar all at once. They saw seven movies of the Festival of the Birth. They said: “It is certainly a holiday!”, which is to say, that it is more important than they had thought. They sat very close to the movie. Adam Isaac said: “The inference of the Festival of the Birth, Inquirer!” David Joseph said: “The meaning of the Festival of the Birth, Karl Brown!” Evidently, Inquirer and Karl Brown are figures of legend surrounding the Festival of the Birth. And their father sat on the side and he prayed for lightning to strike them so that he would not have to endure the Festival of the Birth any longer.
אֲמַר זוּלְחֶזְוָא: ”אַצְרִ֫כְנָא לְפַרְנֵס כְּרוֹשִׁיָּיאתָא לְקַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס, לִינוֹס!“ וַאֲמַ֫רוּ דָּוִד יוֹסֵף וְאָדָם יִצְחָק לְאָבָּא: ”מָאן קַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס?“ וְי”א דַּאֲמַר אָבָּא: ”שֶׁ֫רֶל, יֵ֫שׁוּ הַנּוֹצְרִי הַשּׁוֹגֵל.“ אִמְרַת לֵהּ: ”אֶלְעָזָר.“ אֲמַר לַהּ: ”אַמַּאי?“ אִמְרַת לֵהּ: ”עֲבֻד.“ אֲמַר: ”קַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס דַּהִין. וְדַהִינוּתֵהּ טָבָא.“ כְּזַיְתָא. ”וְלֶאֱתֵה לְבָתִּים דְּגוֹיִּים בְּפַלְגוּת לֵילְיָא דְּלִיתֵּן מַתְּנָת לְהוֹן.“
The movie said: “We must provide little cakes for Kadisha Nikola’os, Linos!” And David Joseph and Adam Isaac said to their father: “Who is Kadisha Nikola’os?” And some say that their father turned to his wife and said to her, “Sherel, curse Jesus of Nazareth, that fucker because of whom we are suffering.” She said to him: “Elazar,” reminding him of their compromises. He said to her: “Why must I?” She said to him: “Do it.” He said to David Joseph and Adam Isaac: Kadisha Nikola’os is a fat man. And his fatness is good.” The Gemara adds, like the fatness of olive oil. “And he will come to houses of the goyim after half the night, that is, at midnight, in order to give a gift to them.”
אֲמַר אָדָם יִצְחָק לֵהּ: ”לֶאֱתֵה הָכָה?“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”אֵן, לֶאֱתֵה הָכָה.“ פְּרְנַ֫סוּ כְּרוֹשִׁיָּיאתָא לְקַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס. לָא־הֶאֱמִ֫ינוּ. נָ֫מוּ וּבְצַפְרָא חָזוּ דְּכְּרוֹשִׁיָּיאתָא עֲלַ֫מוּ. אֲמַ֫רוּ: ”אֲתָא הָכָה! אֲתָא הָכָה! אִמָּא, אֲתָא הָכָה!, אָבָּא, אֲתָא הָכָה!“ אָדָם יִצְחָק קָם וַאֲמַר: ”נִקוֹלָאוֹס אֲתָא!“ אֲמַר דָּוִד יוֹסֵף: ”בָּרוּךְ הַשֵּׁם!“
Adam Isaac said to him: “He will come here?” His father said to him: “He will come here.” They provided little cakes for Kadisha Nikola’os. They did not believe that he would come, much less that he would eat the little cakes. (If he went to the house of every goy and ate all the little cakes that goyim had left out for him, he would be sick indeed.) They went to their beds and slept and when they woke up in the morning and went to where they had left the little cakes they saw that the little cakes had disappeared. They said: “He came here! He came here! Mother, he came here! Father, he came here!” Adam Isaac stood on the couch and said: “Kadisha Nikola’os came!” David Joseph said in Hebrew: “Blessed is the Name!”
רְהַ֫טוּ לְאוֹצָרָא. אַמַּאי רְהַ֫טוּ לְאוֹצָרָא? כִּי אָבָּא וְאִמָּא עֲבַ֫דוּ קוֹמְפְּרוֹמִיסִּין. אֲמַר לַהּ: ”שֶׁ֫רֶל, לֺא אַחְמַד דְּאִילָנָא דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא בְּבַיְתָא יְהוּדִי.“ אִמְרַת לֵהּ: ”אֶצְהֻר. אִילָנָא בְּאוֹצָרָא.“ בְּאוֹצָרָא אִתְלְבִ֫שׁוּ כִּיפּוֹת וּמִקְטוֹרִין בִּפְנֵי אִילָנָא דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא וְעָלָיו דּוֹב זוּטָא דְּאִתְלְבֵשׁ כִּיפָּה. וְאִתְלְבִ֫שׁוּ שַׁמָּעָן דִּי מַתָּנָתָא דְּקַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס. אִמְרַת אַיְקַטְרִינֵה לְאָבָּא וּלְאִמָּא: ”אַל־צֻפּוּ, שֶׁ֫רֶל וְאֶלֵיזְרְ, אֵבְלֵת לִבְנַיָּא מַתָּנָת דִּיְהוּדִים.“ אֲמַר לַהּ: ”מַהוּ מַתָּנָתָא?“ אִמְרַת לֵהּ: ”מַתָּנָתָא דְּתוֹרָה.“ מַתָּנָתָא דְּתוֹרָה דְּאַיְקַטְרִינֵה הוֹן זְמָרִין דְּיוֹסֵף וְכֻתֺּ֫נֶת הַפַּסִּים וּבְהוֹן יוֹסֵף דּוֹנִי אוֹזְמוֹנְדְּ. מִקְטוֹרִין, כִּיפּוֹת, עֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא, דּוֹב זוּטָא דְּאִתְלְבֵשׁ כִּיפָּה, שַׁמָּעָן, וּבְשַׁמָּעָן, זְמָרִין מִן־הַתּוֹרָה בְּיַד דְּבַר פַּחְתָא דְּאִתְזְמִ֫רוּ בְּפֻם דְּמוֹרמוֹן.
They ran to the storehouse. Why did they run to the storehouse? Because their father and mother had made compromises. He had said to her: “Sherel, I don’t want that there should be a tree of the Festival of the Birth in a Jewish house.” She had said to him: “I understand why you don’t want that, so the tree can go in the storehouse.” In the storehouse they were wearing kippot and coats when they stood before the tree of the Festival of the Birth, and on top of the tree there was a small bear that was wearing its own small kippah. And they were wearing also headphones, which were the gifts of Kadisha Nikola’os. The gifts had not actually come from Kadisha Nikola’os, they had come from Aykaterineh. Aykaterineh had said to their father and mother before putting out the gifts: “Don’t worry, Sherel and Eleizr”—Aykaterineh was unable to pronounce the name Elazar, but he was too polite to correct her—“I have brought for your sons gifts that are Jews.” Their father said to her: “What are the gifts?” She said to him: “Gifts of the Torah.” The gifts of the Torah from Aykaterineh were songs of Joseph and a Striped Tunic and in them the figure of Joseph was Doni Ozmond, who was a marginally well-known singer. It was a strange sight indeed. They were wearing coats and kippot, it was the Festival of the Birth, there was a small bear that was wearing its own small kippah, they were wearing headphones, and in the headphones were songs from the Torah from the hand of a noble, that is, written by a noble, that were sung by the mouth of a Mormon.
אַחַר כָּךְ אֲזַ֫לוּ לִמְתִיבָא. בְּרַמְשָׁא רַב נְצָצָא קְרָא לְאָבָּא. אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”מָר אֶדֶלְמָנָא, בְּרַ֫יִךְ שִׁקְרִין.“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”מָה עֲבַ֫דוּ?“ אֲמַר רַב נְצָצָא: ”רַבָּא עֲמַד לְאִתְשְׁעִי לְתָלְמִדַיָּא עַל עֱסֶק עֵד מוֹלָדָא וַאֲמַר דָּוִד יוֹסֵף: ”עֲבַ֫דְנָא לְעֵד מוֹלָדָא.“ אֲמַר רַבָּא: ”לָא־עֲבַדְתְּ לְעֵד מוֹלָדָא.“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”דִּיּוּק דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא, טְעֵם דְּעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא, בֶּאֱמֶת עֲבַ֫דְנָא לְעֵד מוֹלָדָא.“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”עֲבַדְתְּ חֲנֻכָּה דְּנָן תְּלָתָא שַׁבָּתָא אוֹ בְּאַרְבָּע יַרְחָיָּא. הֶאֱמִ֫ינוּ גּוֹיִין לְקַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס.“ עַלִּי אָדָם יִצְחָק לְאֶצְבְּעָתֵהּ וַאֲמַר ”אַנְכִּ֫רְנָא לְקַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס.“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”לָא־אַנְכֵּרְתְּ לְקַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס.“ וַאֲמַ֫רוּ כׇּל־תָלְמִדַיָּא: ”מָאן קַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס?“ אֲמַר לְהוֹן: ”הוּא טָב. קַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס דַּהִין. וְדַהִינוּתֵהּ טָבָא. וַאֲתָה לְבָתִּים דְּגוֹיִּים בְּפַלְגוּת לֵילְיָא דְּלִיתֵּן מַתְּנָת לְהוֹן. וּמִפְּנֵי אָבַּ֫יְנָא רָחְמֵהּ אֲתָא לְבֵיתַ֫נָא לִיתֵּן שַׁמָּעָן בְּאוֹצָרָא וַאֲכַל לְכׇל־כְּרוֹשִׁיָּיאתָא!“ אֲמַר רַב נְצָצָא לְאָבָּא: ”מָר אֶדֶלְמָנָא, אֲמַ֫רוּ קֻשְׁטָא?“
After this, they went to yeshiva. In the evening, R. Netzatza called to their father. He said to him: “Sir Edelman, your sons are liars.” He said to him: “What did they do?” R. Netzatza said: “The teacher stood to teach the students concerning the Festival of the Birth and David Joseph said: ‘We did the Festival of the Birth.’ The teacher said: ‘You did not do the Festival of the Birth.’ He said to him: ‘We learned about the inference of the Festival of the Birth, and the meaning of the Festival of the Birth, in truth we did the Festival of the Birth.’ The teacher said to him: ‘You did Dedication three weeks ago or in four months depending on the calendar year.’—The teacher is, strictly speaking, incorrect, as the holiday of Dedication reliably falls on the 25th of Kislev every year—‘Goyim believe in the existence of Kadisha Nikola’os.’ Adam Isaac raised two of his fingers like he was ordering his second martini and he said: ‘We know Kadisha Nikola’os.’ The teacher said to him: ‘You do not know Kadisha Nikola’os.’ And all the students said: ‘Who is Kadisha Nikola’os?’ Adam Isaac said to them: ‘He is good. Kadisha Nikola’os is a fat man. And his fatness is good. And he comes to the houses of the goyim after half the night in order to give a gift to them. And because our father is his friend he came to our house last night to give headphones as a gift in the storehouse and he ate all the little cakes!’” R. Netzatza said to their father: “Sir Edelman, did they say the truth?”
וַאֲמַר אָבָּא לֵהּ: ”לָא. לָא־קֻשְׁטָא.“ אֲמַר רַב נְצָצָא לֵהּ: ”לָא־קֻשְׁטָא?ּ“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”שֶׁ֫רֶל וַאֲנָה אֲכַ֫לְנָא לִכְרוֹשִׁיָּיאתָא. לָא־אֲתָה קַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס לְבֵיתַ֫נָא.“ אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”אֶצְהֻר דְּלָא־אֲתָה קַדִּישָׁא נִקוֹלָאוֹס לְבֵיתָךְ. עֲבַדְתּוּן לְעֵד מוֹלָדָא?“
And their father said to him: “No. Not the truth.” R. Netzatza said to him: “Not the truth?” He said to him: “Sherel and I ate the little cakes. Kadisha Nikola’os did not come to our house last night.” He said to him: “I understand that Kadisha Nikola’os did not come to your house last night. Did you do the Festival of the Birth?”
פְּשַׁט אָבָּא לֵהּ. מִשְׁפְּחַהּ מָ֫תוּ. חִגַּת לְגַרְמַהּ. וְלָא־חֲמַד לְעֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא וַעֲבַ֫דוּ כִּי חֲמַד בְּנַיָּא לְמִילַף חֶ֫סֶד יְהוּדִי. אֲמַר לֵהּ: ”מָר אֶדֶלְמָנָא, אֶצְהֻר, וַחֲטַיְתָ. חַגָּא דְּגּוֹי, מָה תֶּעֱבְדּוּן בְּשַׁתָּא הַבָּאָה? הַרֵי דַּעֲדוֹדָה זָרָה, וְתִכְפְּרוּן אַנְתְּ וְאִשְׁתָּךְ.“ אֲמַר אָבָּא: ”רַבִּי, לָא־צְהַרְתְּ לִטְעֵם דְּעֵד מוֹלָדָא!“
So their father explained to him. That her family had all died. That she would have celebrated alone. And that he did not want to do the Festival of the Birth but they had done it because he wanted his sons to learn Jewish chesed. R. Netzatza said to him: “Sir Edelman, I understand what you did and why you did it, but still, you have sinned. A holiday of a goy that you have started doing, what will you do next year, keep celebrating it? See that it is avodah zarah, that is, idol worship, the most serious sin a Jew can commit, and you and your wife must atone for it. Their father said, “Rabbi, it is clear that you don’t understand the meaning of the Festival of the Birth!”
Notes
The form עֵידָא דְּמוֹלָדָא ʕêḏāʔ môlāḏāʔ is calqued from Syr. ܥܹܐܕ݂ܵܐ ܕܡܲܘܠܵܕ݂ܵܐ ʕēʔḏāʔ dmawlāḏāʔ ‘Christmas’.
The construction רָחְמָא הֲוַת לְאִימַּת rāḥəmāʔ hăwaṯ ləʔîmmāʔ ‘the mother had a friend’ is on analogy with וּשְׁטָרָא הֲוָה לֵיהּ ‘and he had a bond’ in b. B. Bat. 41a.
The name אַיְקַטְרִינֵה ʔayəqaṭərînēh is a straightforward borrowing of Grk. Αἰκατερίνη Aikaterínē, whence also Kate.
The use of לְגַרְמַהּ ləḡarəmahh for ‘by herself’ is on analogy with לְגַרְמֵיהּ הוּא דַּעֲבַד ‘that he did it on his own’ in b. Ber. 48a.
The word צַדְקָנִית ṣaḏəqānîṯ is the unnattested singular of צַדְקָנִיּוֹת ṣaḏəqānīyyôṯ ‘pious, virtuous (f.pl)’.
The word קוֹמְפְּרוֹמִיסִּין qôməppərômîssîn ‘compromises’ is found in p. Mo. Qaṭ. 82a (3:3 in most modern editions).
The structure of the discourse תָּנוּ רַבָּנָן, מִפְּנֵי שְׁנֵי דְּבָרִים is from b. Ber. 3a.
The word דַחֲפִיפוּתָא daḥăp̄îp̄ûṯāʔ ‘shampoo, shampooing oil’ is from b. Ket. 17b.
The construction לֺא הָיָה וְלֺא עָתִיד לִיהְיוֹת ‘[it] never was and never will be’ is properly Rabbinic Hebrew, from b. San. 71a.
The word עֲגָלָה ʕăḡālāh ‘wagon’ is from b. Beṣ. 23b.
The form גּוּרְבַּיָּא gûrəbbayyāʔ ‘the socks’ is based on Šəʔēləttôṯ dəRaḇ ʔāḥay Gāʔôn 168 מי שרי ליה למיפק בגורבא ‘is he permitted to go out with a wool sock’.
The word צֻיָּבָא ṣuyyāḇāʔ ‘Advent’ is based on Syr. ܨܘܝܒܐ ṣwybʔ ‘Advent’.
The form זוּלְחֲזַו zûləḥăzaw ‘film’ is borrowed from modern Assyrian Neo-Aramaic ܙܘܼܠܚܸܙܘܵܐ zūlḥezwāʔ ‘film’ < ܙܘܼܠܵܐ zūlāʔ ‘ribbon’ + ܚܸܙܘܵܐ ḥezwāʔ ‘vision’. Its definite form is זוּלְחֶזְוָא zûləḥezəwāʔ ‘the film’.
The use of דִּיּוּק dīyyûq for ‘inference, meaning, purpose’ is after b. Ket. 17b
בָּדֹק = ‘Snoopy’. A בָּדֹק bāḏōq is a ‘searcher, inquirer’, like ‘Snoopy’ is a ‘snooper’. (Not sure that this pun really works.)
קַרְלְ שְׁחוֹמָא = ‘Charlie Brown’. Eng. Charlie is ultimately from PGmc. *karilaz (> *karil > Lt. Carolus > Fr. Charles), so I’ve borrowed the German Karl as קַרְלְ Qarələ. The form שְׁחוֹמָא Šəḥômāʔ is from Assyrian Neo-Aramaic ܫܚܘܿܡܵܐ šḥōmāʔ ‘brown’.
The word כְּרוֹשִׁיָּיאתָא kərôšīyyāyʔṯāʔ ‘little cakes’ is from b. Git. 69b.
The use of קַדִּישָׁא qaddîšāʔ to mean ‘saint’ is from Syr. ܩܲܕܝܼܫܵܐ qadīšāʔ ‘saint, holy person’.
It turns out that the name of the Peanuts character Linus is from Grk. Λῖνος Lînos!
The construction בְפַלגוּת לֵילְיָא bəp̄aləḡûṯ lêləyāʔ ‘at midnight’ is actually from Tg. Onq. Ex. 12:29, so a little bit out of place and period for this piece, but a highly respected (and authoritative!) text for the Babylonian sages.
The form אֶצְהֻר ʔeṣəhur ‘I am clear’, better ‘I understand’, is from b. Qid. 39a.
The form מִקְטוֹרִין mīqəṭôrîn ‘coats’ is from b. AZ 58b.
The word שַׁמָּעָן šammāʕān ‘headphones’ is borrowed from Assyrian Neo-Aramaic ܫܲܡܵܥܬܵܐ šammāʕtāʔ, plural absolute ܫܲܡܵܥܵܢ̈ šammāʕān ‘headphones’.
נְצָצָא = ‘falcon’, as also Falk < Yi. פֿאַלקאַן falkan ‘falcon’.